the white house press secretary now says this. >> the president said he, in fact, had met omar obama when he moved to cambridge for law school and stayed with him for a brief period of time. are. >> reporter: in recent days, he said he stayed with him for days in the 1980s. why the differing accounts? >> back when this arose, folks looked at the record. >> reporter: jay carney said it was when he asked the president about staying with his uncle. the white house was asked about the relationship a couple of years ago after the uncle was arrested for drunk driving and it came to light he was fighting deportation. that has given ammunition to republican critics. >> it goes back to the thing of the white house not being completely forthright with facts with the public. it is what has contributed to his trust worthiness numbers going down. >> reporter: and political observers say something else could be lingering. >> it raises questions about the white house coming to the idea that the relatives had trouble with dui or immigration problems or other else. there are other politicians with re